


Settle the Score

by Sourlander



Series: Unknown Limits [4]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Academy, First Order, Humiliation, Other, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 04:54:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10655331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourlander/pseuds/Sourlander
Summary: Being humiliated by Hux is something Meelan Bendar won't stand for.





	Settle the Score

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AuroraLynne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraLynne/gifts).



> Yep... another Bendar Story from the "Bendar Chronicles". And this is another story I wrote for AuroraLynne. I hope you like this one!

** Settle the Score **

****

The scarlet banner in front of them shone as brightly as ever and the emblem of the First Order emblazoned upon it reminded them all of why they were here. What their purpose was. Under every other circumstance, on every other day, Meelan Bendar was proud to be standing here among his fellow students and stare up at the sign which symbolized the centre piece of his life. This organization was the reason they were all here. The reason they studied and trained every day. The cause was right and it always had been. It was the only certainty he had and the only one he needed, he told himself.

Assembly was part of the daily routine and he barely noticed it on any other day. But today was different. It was as different as it had been these last four years on this specific day. He always remembered the date and he was surely never going to forget it, though there were times when he wished he could. On this day he always felt more separated from the group he was in than usually. He managed to blend in perfectly fine generally, but today he was the stranger in their midst and no one but him knew it.

On this day four years ago, his life had taken a dramatic turn. He had been a rising star in the ranks of his class back then. A captain and leader of his fellow students. Scoring top grades in every subject and looked at respectfully by everyone. And then his father had been charged with committing treason and been executed almost on the spot. Shortly afterwards his grades had started dropping and his little brother Morap had been expelled after attacking one of his classmates in the schoolyard. Not just any classmate, but the Chancellor’s bastard son. Of course that hadn’t gone down too well with the Academy. Of course Meelan had been suspended from school for a short period for not stepping in. Of course their mother had scared Morap away and so Meelan was left alone. He had been on his own, when he returned to the Academy. His friends had stopped talking to him for almost a year, scared of being included in Meelan’s drop in popularity with the teachers. At the beginning of the next school year he hadn’t been able to even hold his rank. His efforts to make it hadn’t diminished, but his chances of achieving his goals had. All of a sudden he was branded and though of course he passed each and every exam, he was hard pressed to get the recognition he deserved.

Of course his chances had never been as good as those of other young cadets whose parents had been high up in the Empire’s ranks, but he had known that with a lot of hard work he might be able to make his own way in the rising First Order. And then his father and brother had ruined those prospects in one single swoop. But still, even though he resented his brother for what he had done, forcing their mother to pretend like he had died, he couldn’t help but wonder where Morap was. What he was doing. Whether he was healthy and thriving. He’d never know. Never. And for that Meelan resented him even more.

Meelan only barely registered the Chancellor’s dismissal, and snapped back to attention at the exact moment when it was his cue to move. He didn’t even look up at the stage anymore, where he and his brother had been humiliated all those years ago and where his own downfall had started. No… he wasn’t failing the Academy, he told himself. He was merely not advancing as fast as he should be. His father’s crime had put a damper on his plans, but certainly not been able to stop them.

He followed the other young men out into the hallway leading to the mess hall. Lessons would be starting soon enough and then he’d be able to concentrate on his studies and the exams, which were to take place in two weeks’ time. He was graduating. Finally, he would be ready to serve on a proper First Order base, maybe even a Star Destroyer. It would all depend on how well he did in his written, oral and practical exams and then the First Order was awaiting him with open arms.

Since his age group had been the first to leave the Assembly hall, they were first to arrive at breakfast. Meelan hesitated for the blink of an eye, before turning to the left, down a narrow corridor leading away from the mess. He wasn’t hungry and though he knew that the next meal would only be available to him several hours later, he still didn’t feel like joining the others. Usually he sat with the few friends he still had despite everything, but not so today. Today he wanted to be far away from even them. Their mere presence reminded him of that day on which he had lost so much. Even looking into the mirror had been painful this morning. He and Morap shared certain characteristics, if not to say they had always looked very much alike, except for the fact that Morap usually had his uniform messed up in one way or the other, a button missing, the cuff smudged, the jacket ripped in one place or two… Meelan sighed, as he walked away from the other young men and boys, brushing a hand through his hair, which also looked a lot like Morap’s had, except that his was tidier and always had been.  “Going somewhere, Sergeant?”

Meelan stopped in his tracks, turned around and was taken aback as he saw the red haired Captain walking behind him and catching up to him quickly. Clenching his teeth, he forced himself to stand more erect. Though Hux was two years younger than he was, the younger man still outranked him, and he had to respect that. “Just heading off to the library, Sir.” He was used to calling Hux that, though the single sound made his insides squirm. Before Morap’s departure they had barely ever met, but for some time now the Chancellor’s son seemed to be particularly fond of talking to Meelan in public, which Meelan found utterly unnerving.

Hux nodded. He had caught up to Meelan by now and his blue eyes were looking him up and down as if trying to find something wrong with his appearance. “Fine, let me accompany you. I’m not particularly hungry myself.” His Corouscantian accent was sharper than his own was, Meelan knew. More sophisticated. It was a sign of Hux’ upbringing and of how much attention he paid to his pronunciation.

There was nothing to do but nod and as they walked away from the crowd gathering in the dining hall, Meelan couldn’t help but notice that his heart rate was picking up with every step they took. He had never been alone with Hux, who in turn had never seemed to want to accompany him anywhere and from what Meelan remembered of past events, Hux never went anywhere without his cronies. But they were nowhere to be seen. At least for now. And Meelan had no way of getting away from either Hux, nor his companions. Meelan couldn’t even see them as they entered the corridor leading towards the library.

“Have you heard of your brother lately?”

Despite himself Meelan stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide and a sudden cold creeping up his spine.

Taking only three more steps, Hux finally came to a halt himself and turned around slowly, a friendly smile on his lips, while his eyes remained cold. A handsome face, Meelan thought, if only those eyes hadn’t been that icy. His throat was parched all of a sudden. He took a moment to take a deep breath. “Sir?”

“You have grown pale, Sergeant,” Hux remarked, clasping his hands behind his back. “So you haven’t heard from him?”

Meelan returned his gaze for a moment. He could practically hear the blood pumping through his veins and he could feel sweat trickling down his back. “I do not have a brother,” he murmured, looking down at his hands, pulling up his gloves and cursing himself for that moment of weakness at the same time.

“You haven’t?” Hux sounded genuinely surprised, forcing Meelan to look up at him again. With almost annoying slowness, Hux took a step towards him. “I remember him very well, though. He was in my year, wasn’t he? Before he was expelled?”

Meelan had to force himself not to clench his hands into fists and smash them right into that smug face and break Hux’ nose all over again. He understood why Morap had acted the way he had. He always had really. Why Morap had felt compelled to cause pain where pain was due. Why a fifteen-year-old boy, who was more sensitive than he was sensible, would feel the need to lash out, out of impulse- But that wasn’t him. No. No, it wasn’t. But still. For a moment he wished there weren’t any surveillance cameras here. For a moment he wished he were truly alone with Hux. “My brother is dead, Sir.” Meelan repeated the lie his mother had told everyone she knew. That had become routine.

“Is he?” Hux scoffed and a mischievous smile was playing around his lips. “Are you sure?”

Without being able to control it, Meelan’s breath had quickened, and his eyes were burning from forcing himself to return Hux’ gaze. “Sir?” He was unable to say any more. Unable to formulate a sentence denying Hux’ claims. Where was this coming from? What could Hux possibly know that Meelan didn’t?

“I am only asking… have you actually seen his corpse? Did you cut him off that rope in his room? Or did you leave it to your mother.”

How easy it would be. How easy to just fling himself at Hux, throw him to the ground and punch him until his own knuckles started bleeding. “Why do you ask?” Four words. Four words, which were neither confirmation, nor denial and all he could bring out.

“I’m just curious. He was my classmate after all, wasn’t he? And of course I remember this day. No one who really cared for him would.” The cold smile turned into a fake grimace and only now did Meelan realize that his hands had balled into fists after all. “I am sorry, if I offended you. I was only shocked to hear of his cowardice and almost couldn’t believe it, you know?”

Meelan almost choked on the response struggling to fight its way out and he pressed his lips tightly together. He was rooted to the spot. Unable to do anything but stare right back at Hux, who was obviously enjoying himself. Hux didn’t believe it. Didn’t believe the story his mother had been spreading… and why would he? There was no proof. No body. Just an empty urn buried in their backyard right next to the place where his father had been put to rest after a traitor’s funeral, shortly followed by that of a coward who had never died.

Hux held his gaze only for a moment longer. “Please let me know, if you hear anything,” he said politely, then walked right past Meelan in the direction they had come from, leaving Meelan to stand there in the corridor, right in front of the library with tears streaming down his face for the first time in a very long time.

 

He knew. Somehow Hux knew that Morap wasn’t dead. That he was still somewhere out there. But how? How could he know? Or did he just suspect? Had he, or anyone else actually done any research? Meelan couldn’t remember anyone ever asking questions. They all just seemed to accept that horrible story his mother had spread. No one wanted to talk about Morap. Morap was an embarrassment and everyone had shut up about him as soon as they heard that he had first been expelled from the Academy and then proceeded to hang himself in his bedroom shortly afterwards. And still pretended suicide had been easier for Meelan and his mother to handle than their last remaining family member deserting.

            It had been a long time since Meelan had doubted his mother’s decision. A long time, since he had felt this tight knot in the pit of his stomach. The fear threatening to strangle him, robbing him of the ability to breathe. His knees were weak, as they had barely ever been as he walked towards the board on which the match-ups for today would be revealed. Physical Education was part of their daily routine in the afternoon and while Meelan was looking forward to it most days, he didn’t do so now. He felt like everyone was staring at him and here in the gym he couldn’t find a way of avoiding their gaze the same way he had been able to in other classes. Yes, during Battle Simulation he had been forced to interact with everyone else, but personal like or dislike played no role there. There on the simulated Star Destroyer’s command deck they were to play their part and interact as a team according to their role’s description and no one deferred from their given task. During Physical Education things were still regulated, but improvising and personal contact was more important here.

            When he saw who he was to fight with in today’s training session with the staff weapons, he cursed under his breath. Of course Hux would have found a way to manipulate the procedure so he and Meelan would have to fight each other. Meelan threw a look over his shoulder to find his soon to be opponent and he felt boiling hot anger rising up in him again. That little nerfherder was laughing at a joke one of his friends must have made and again that knot of frustration threatened to suffocate Meelan. He knew that Hux had meant to derail him and that Hux had probably received all the confirmation of his suspicions he needed by simply taking in Meelan’s reaction.

            But still Hux seemed not to have spread the word and had so far kept the threatening rumour to himself. Meelan didn’t even want to think about what might happen to him and his mother once someone started talking. Not that he was particularly fond of his mother, but she as the only family he had left and he’d be damned if he let anything happen to her as well.

            Just as he looked up which training pad he and Hux had been assigned, a short and sharp warning sound announced that the cadets should stand at attention. Meelan’s stomach did a little backflip, as he stood with his fellow cadets. Their age group had been assigned the fourth gym this afternoon. By far the biggest gymnasium at the Academy and the one where their hand to hand combat was examined more often than not. He was not surprised therefore to see Chancellor Hux enter the balustrade high above their heads, accompanied by four other officers, probably from High Command. A woman and three men. From afar Meelan couldn’t catch a real glimpse of either of them, but when Chancellor Hux addressed them, he recognized their names. Admiral Sloane had been a prominent figure in the late Empire’s history, so had the other two men by her side. Generals Kafr, Shoofa and Sloane were apparently here on this day to visit the Academy. Meelan and of course everyone else knew exactly what that meant. They were looking for promising young people to take under their wings and immediately Meelan wished he wasn’t paired with Hux. Not today of all days. He had seen Hux fight of course. Not because of any particular interest in his technique, but because he was the Chancellor’s son and of course whatever Hux did was common knowledge. Hux was good. Probably too good for Meelan to take on, but he was determined not to let that stop him. He didn’t want to lose. Not again. He needed to show Hux what he was made of and who he had taken on. Giving up was not an option.

            When the Chancellor released them to start their training, Meelan walked towards the assigned training pad and grabbed a staff with two vibro blades attached to each end on his way there. The leathery material around the hilt in the middle of the staff weapon felt familiar and calming in his hand. He knew this weapon and being assigned this one was certainly a stroke of luck.

            Hux was already waiting for him, staff held tightly in his hand. He didn’t look up at the balustrade, fully aware that his father must be watching him more than anyone else. Meelan and he had barely ever had to fight each other, but the few times they had, Meelan had walked away the loser. But seeing Hux standing there in the standard issue training outfit and looking as smug as he had that morning, made Meelan want to win more than ever before. He eyed Hux closely, knowing full well that his opponent, though skinny looking in his cadet’s uniform, was stronger and more dangerous than he seemed at first glance.

            “Sergeant…” Hux greeted him with that infuriating smile.

            “Captain…” Meelan took a deep breath and stepped onto the training pad, feeling the springy and soft material under his bare feet.

            “Have you given our talk this morning some more thought?”

            “There is nothing to think about, Sir.” Meelan raised an eyebrow, trying to look as distant as possible, while white hot anger was searing through his veins. He had to stay calm. Stay focused if he wanted to win this.

            The next signal sounded to announce that they had to take position. Both Meelan and Hux grabbed their weapons with their sharpened ends more tightly. The training outfit provided cover for their vital organs, but arms, hands and face were still exposed. At the beginning of training when they had been a lot younger than they were now, they had practiced with blunt weapons, but as they got used to handling their arms, those blunt weapons had been exchanged for real ones. Accidents barely ever happened, because hurting a fellow cadet on purpose was punished most severely, but still the odd mishap here and there could not be prevented and was part of the whole training process.

            Meelan didn’t take his eyes off Hux for even a second. Fighting down the rage was harder than he would have thought and he knew that Hux would take advantage of this as soon as he could and that was probably exactly why Hux had picked him out that morning. Because Meelan was vulnerable today and someone vulnerable would be easier to defeat on a day when his father and three officers from High Command would be watching their training. Meelan took another deep breath and when the gong rang through the gym, his whole body, which had been tense with anticipation, lunged into action without his volition. That grumbling pain eating away at him, made him fast, but Hux, slender and tall, was faster than him. Their staffs didn’t even touch and as Meelan threw himself forward, he already knew that he had lost. Hux stepped aside almost gracefully and before he knew it, Meelan’s legs gave way as Hux’ staff caught him in the back of the knees, knocking him straight to the ground. Before he could fall over, or even had a chance to scramble to his feet, Hux’ was above him, staff clutched tight over Meelan’s throat.

            “No need to think, Bendar? Are you sure?”, he whispered, his knee pressing painfully into Meelan’s back. “See, I have defeated you twice today, maybe you should make some mental adjustments.”

            Meelan scoffed forcibly, staff still clutched tight in his hand and gasping for air, when Hux released him. Breathing heavily, Meelan got to his feet and turned around to look at Hux, who was still smiling calmly. Of course he was. He had just proven to his father that he was perfectly capable of winning a fight fair and square. But this wasn’t over. This training session would last at least an hour longer and Meelan was as determined as ever.

            Going back into position, he twirled the staff and took hold of it. “Why? What could you possibly want of me?”

            Hux shrugged, assuming the same position as Meelan, who was fully aware that those people on the balustrade were watching him as well as Hux and at that moment, as Hux made a step to the side, initiating them circling each other like wild dogs waiting for the other to strike first, Meelan knew that there was no way he’d ever make it in the Order as long as Hux was barring his way, and he’d continue to do so for as long as he could, unless Meelan gave in. But giving in would cost too much. Not only his pride, but also something else. Something vital. The last fond memories he still had of his brother. And that was something he couldn’t do. The realization hit him hard, but didn’t take him off balance. The very fact that he’d prefer standing up to Hux in any way he could to keep something of Morap safe, made him relax somewhat and the only thing that counted now was this fight. Winning it. Not for himself, but for Morap.

            “I guess everyone could be useful at some point. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if you owed me one colossal favour?” So this was it… Hux had not only singled him out because he thought Meelan would be easy to defeat, but also because he was already building up his connections to as many young people in the Order as possible… Meelan felt sick just thinking of that boy taking over everything in one swift swoop one day.

            When their staffs met again, Meelan felt the impact of it echoing in his very bones and finally his brain started working along with his body. This fight became routine. He knew what to do. When to do it. When to hit, when to duck, when to get out of the way and when to strike. Soon he was sweating, but so was Hux, whose red hair was sticking to his forehead and whose eyes showed quite plainly that he hadn’t expected this round to take so long. As Hux raised his staff again, Meelan sensed a feint, ducking the real blow just at the right moment, spinning around his own axis and letting the staff glide through his hand, so he was only holding one end of it and raising it to eye level. A sharp pain in his right arm, was all he felt, before he finally faced Hux again, who was still pulling back his own staff. Their eyes met and the next instant, Meelan’s staff had hit Hux in the temple with full force.

            The boy in front of him collapsed to the soft padded ground with a silent thump. Out of breath and the protective shirt sticking to his torso, Meelan took a step back, as trainers rushed in to help. He didn’t even look up at the balustrade. He knew exactly that Chancellor Hux would make it even harder for him to rise through the Order’s ranks now, but he couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of elation at seeing his brother’s enemy lying there on the ground in front of him, a single drop of blood trickling out of his ear.

            “Step back, Bendar!” One of the trainers grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back. Meelan pressed his lips tightly together to hide the grin that was threatening to spread over his face.

            Already paramedics were streaming in through the door, where they were always standing by.

            “He’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” said the blonde trainer, who was obviously mistaking Meelan’s facial expression. “You should have someone have a look at that arm of yours though.”

            Meelan took a deep breath and looked down at his side. He hadn’t even noticed the deep gash on his arm until now. Blood was flowing steadily from it and dripping to the ground. “I’m okay, Sir…”, he murmured and forced himself not to look at Hux again, as they put him on a stretcher. His heart was beating wildly again, and he knew that if he looked up now everyone would see the elation on his face. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, while all hell broke loose around him. He had hurt the Chancellor’s son. Wounded him. Knocked him out. He had won this fight.

            He thought that maybe he had done it for Morap, but he felt something else. Like Morap had made him do it somehow. That everything was not as it seemed at first sight.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my beta flausengut once again! Please feel free to let me know what you think ;)


End file.
